Statement of support for our Egyptian partner El Nadeem

For more than two decades El Nadeem has been providing rehabilitation to victims of torture and state violence in Egypt. Thursday morning authorities decided to close it down. DIGNITY strongly opposes this unfounded decision.

The esteemed El Nadeem Center is a private clinic and long-term partner of DIGNITY. For the past 23 years, the center has worked for the rehabilitation of victims of torture and state violence.

Early Thursday, the center was closed down by Egyptian police, according to Aida Seif el-Dawla, psychiatrist and founder of El Nadeem.

Authorities have offered no official reason as to why the center had to be closed, but observers deem it to be yet another crack-down on human rights defenders and NGOs’ critical of the repressive practices of the current regime.

El Nadeem recently published its annual archive (2016), which provides an overview of all media and NGO-reports documenting human rights violations, including physical and psychological torture, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killing, perpetrated in Egypt.

The decision to close down El Nadeem will have grave consequences for the many victims of torture, who will now not have access to the professional trauma rehabilitation they need, but will have to endure chronic pain, anxiety, depression and other consequences of torture.

Further, Egypt and the wider region could lose a critical watch dog and strong voice in the fight against torture and other serious human rights violations.

Message of support:

“We fully support our Egyptian partner El Nadeem and their commitment to the rehabilitation of torture victims, and documentation of, and advocacy against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. We condemn any attempt to deprive victims of torture of their right to redress and rehabilitation – a fundamental right, which Egypt has subscribed to as State party to the UN Convention against Torture.”